Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Tuesday 05/29 A.M. Quickie:Vick, Kobe, Judd, Clemens, Hopkins, More

After a long weekend away, there's a lot to catch up on...

Here's the overarching question: After three days away, what was the biggest story of the long weekend that will dominate fan discussion today? Marquise Hill? Michael Vick? NBA Playoffs? UFC? Indy 500? Bonds? Lacrosse? Allison Stokke? Something else? Let's just dive right in:

Vick Doggy Dogg: Oh, Michael Vick is so screwed. Did you catch the ESPN report? Vick is a "heavyweight" in the sport, says an informant that investigators say is reliable.

Vick is apparently totally immersed in it. He bets a ton of money. The informant says he personally saw Vick bet the money. The only question now, beyond the scope of the criminal charges, is the over-under on how many games Vick will be suspended by NFL commissioner Roger "Get Tough" Goodell. If Vick was an also-ran talent, I suspect he'd be gone for the entire season. Because Vick is a superstar, we'll see. The word is six games, but doesn't that number seem pretty arbitrary?

(And, in a wild twist, the dog-fighting community is nervous that a freaked-out Vick will start snitching – new T-shirt craze! – and cripple the industry. What a quandary for Vick: If he helps out the cops, he'll help himself personally, but ruin his fan cred.)

Let's drop the flippant comments: The accidental death of Patriots young D-lineman Marquise Hill was a horrible shock. Condolences to his family, friends and fans.

NBA Playoffs West: Spurs win in Utah to go up 3-1, and the Jazz are as good as finished with the series heading back to Texas for Game 5. (On the plus side, Deron Williams had 27 points and 10 assists in another brilliant game. See item below for more on Williams.)

NBA Playoffs East: LeBron Strikes Back. 32-9-9. Guess he took all that "can't win either way" from Games 1 and 2 personally. Remains to be seen whether he can sustain it for another win in Game 4, let alone two more after that.

(Meanwhile, Larry Hughes is doubtful for Game 4, and a foot injury might keep him hobbled the rest of the way. For the Cavs, that means this series might end even sooner than was thought before.)

Clemens is ready: 6 IP, 89 pitches, 6 Ks, 2 H, 2 BB, 0 ER. Apparently, he's ready to go. The only question: Will "go" happen at Fenway? (Oh, here's another: Given the Yankees' suckitude, will Clemens even make a difference, or will he be begging for a trade by the mid-summer trade deadline?)

Indy 500 415: You can take or leave the three female-driver sensations, but I don't know of an Indy driver as universally respected as Dario Franchitti.

The reason? Two words: Ashley Judd. When you are married to the most celebrated hottie super-fan in sports, you can count on our support. Congrats to Franchitti, if only because he gives the rest of us an excuse to see, post and comment on Ashley Judd.

(Meanwhile, the Indy 500 ran into the one factor that obliterates the event: Rain. "Indy 415" just doesn't have the same cachet.)

Kobe apparently demands the Lakers bring back Jerry West -- or else he says he wants a trade out of town. When was the last time a player lobbied for a specific GM? I've seen a player lobby for a coach (Michael Jordan). I've seen a player lobby for another player. But GM? That's a new one.

Now: What can the Lakers do? They can bring back West in some kind of consultative role, but what can West do? For starters, he can trade promising prep-to-pro center Andrew Bynum for talent that can help Kobe win now. But maybe there's another way to go...

...The fact is, the Lakers aren't going to be competitive in the West now (with the Spurs, Mavs and Suns so much better), in the short-term (with the Nuggets, Jazz and Rockets rising) or in the long-term (when, presumably, the Blazers and Sonics would have superstars while Kobe is in his decline). What if the Lakers SHOULD trade Kobe?

(The only problem: Either the Lakers would get back 50 cents on the dollar OR the team Kobe is traded to would be gutted to the point where they're no better than his Lakers team now. A Dallas Morning News columnist offers "Dirk for Kobe, straight up." The problem: Even if it made sense for the Mavs, they'd be nuts to give up so much value to a team under pressure to trade its star. If I was Mark Cuban, I'd say: No, how about Josh Howard for Kobe, straight up? And if I was the Lakers, I'd still do it.)

The fact is: Kobe is screwed. He's stuck. Sure, he can leave in 2009 when he's got a contract opt-out, but it's going to be a long two years until then. He kind of deserves his situation, though. No sympathy.

(Update: Kobe denies he demanded a trade, of course.)

NBA Draft: Rumor has it that PG Mike Conley Jr. is a lock for the Hawks at No. 3. I believe I was the first person to say that in the first 90 seconds after the Lottery order was finalized. Nevertheless...

(Now, is it the RIGHT pick? Obviously, the Hawks need a point guard. It's a position they've effed up before in the draft: In fact, they did it TWICE in one draft, taking Marvin Williams over both Chris Paul and Deron Williams. But I'm not as sold on Conley being a Can't-Miss NBA point guard as everyone else. I think he's Mike Bibby with a worse jumpshot. I'd love to be proven wrong. Conley, I'm sure, would love to not go to Atlanta; I was hoping to see that wild scenario where the Blazers finagle both Oden AND Conley.)

Speaking of young point guards, Deron Williams is ridiculous. 27 and 10 last night... and he was fighting the flu! If you were starting a team from scratch and had your choice of any point guard in the NBA, I'll bet more teams would take Williams than Chris Paul. (Those are the only two candidates in the debate.)

Bonds: 746. 10 to go...

MLB Stud, Player: Ryan Howard, fresh off the DL this weekend, clubbing 2 HRs in a Phillies win over the Braves. Philly is surging...

MLB Stud, Player Emeritus: Bo Jackson. A lot of people are talking about this Posnanski column about Bo, who was an MLB rookie 20 years ago. They're right: It's a terrific read, as most everything that celebrates Bo is. Between his baseball exploits, his Monday Night Football runs, his "Tecmo Bo" legend, his "Bo Knows" Nike iconography and his "cut-short" career, Bo might be the greatest sports folk hero of all time. The clincher: He was great in the late-80s, when most sports bloggers and mainstream rising sports writers were in their teens -- at the peak of their idealized fandom.

MLB Stud, Owner: George Steinbrenner. Calls out Brian Cashman, who demanded more responsibility, got it, and now seems to be squandering it away. And he called out Jason Giambi, saying Giambi should have just kept his mouth shut about steroids, etc. The Boss is old school: "Stop Snitching (On Yourself)."

MLB Dud, Team: TampaBay Devil Rays. It only took two games to get Elijah Dukes back in the lineup. Two games missed out of 162. I know those two games weren't punitive – but they should have been. And should have been more.

(And, of course, Dukes hit a bases-loaded single in the 9th to drive in 2 runs and lead the D-Rays to a come-from-behind win over the Tigers. This makes me question the entire concept of karmic payback.)

NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs: My pick? Ottawa. Gotta root for the team that displaced America's Team (Buffalo Sabres). And how can you not like Senators goalie Ray Emery? If he played in a major US market, he could be the most popular player in the sport.

(I made that pick on Monday morning. Obviously, last night's Game 1 win by the Ducks in Anaheim puts Ottawa in a hole right away. Whoops.)

NCAA LAX (Men): Hopkins beats Duke. Is there a college program that is so epically awesome in a single sport (but irrelevant in every other) more than Johns Hopkins and lacrosse? In the end, Hopkins' legacy overcame Duke's irony. It would have been the more dramatic (if predictable) story if Duke had won, but who can begrudge more Hopkins dominane?

NCAA LAX (Women): Northwestern wins its third straight title. Dynasty! (And, believe me, that's not a word you hear in Evanston. This might be the most successful sports team in school history. I'd say the previous contender would be the football team from 1995-1996, when it captured two straight Big Ten titles.)

NCAA Baseball Tournament: Vandy! Vanderbilt will be the top-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament, after a phenomenal season where the Commodores won the SEC regular-season and tournament titles. Usually, top-seeded tournament teams are tough to root for. In this case, you have to be soulless to not be rooting for Vandy to win the national title.

BCS Reform: Florida president Bernie Machen has a plan, and he's going to reveal it on Thursday. But the Tampa Trib's Andy Staples has a preview – and, amazingly, it's not far off from my "SEC secede" idea, ridiculed by almost all of you: He wants to form an LLC similar to the one the BCS created, but (a) have it run a playoff system, (b) generate WAY more revenue, and (c) distribute it to all D-1A schools, not just the power conferences. Here's a link with more details.

Prep Football: Should Texas high school football players be subject to random steroid testing? Forgetting the legality of it, it seems like a decent idea. I'd like to see stricter tests of the college players in Texas, first. I can only imagine what THAT scene is like.

UFC: Jackson upends Liddell. You kind of knew the UFC poster boy was going to be beaten. After all, he had lost to Jackson before. Is it really so bad for the sport that the favorite loses? I'd argue that an upset is rarely -- if ever -- a bad thing in the championship round of any sport, particularly when the favorite is overhyped. USC heading into the 2006 Rose Bowl comes to mind. Upsets prove unpredictability, and unpredictability is the lifeblood of any sport. Now, you could argue that a "new" sport needs the type of predictability that would create marketable names, but with Liddell on the way down/out of UFC anyway (he's 38), they were better off with a new king, anyway.

NFL Conduct, Cont'd: Clay Travis has a pretty interesting (and unusually "straight") take on the NFL's new "Get Tough" personal conduct policy. The influential Pro Football Talk dismissed it. Read Clay's column. What do you think?

Miss Universe: Miss Japan wins, and Tony Romo is one of the judges. Good to see playoff humiliation doesn't keep him from celebrity events.

Marquis Hill's accident is tragedy and should not be gloss over. If one thing you have to from what I read call this guy a hero for giving is life to safe anothers but you also have knock him for not being smart enough to wear a life vest which probably would of saved his life.

Great lacrosse game yesterday. I thought the refs were going Duke Basketball on us by giving the Dukies several man advantages in the final minutes. But Hopkins held on.

I read the story on the High School girl in the Washington Post this morning and you have to think there is some way that she can protect her image from being exploited like that. She was only 17 when the photo was taken and the blogger made some sexual comments. That has to violate some kind of law. Technology has gone too far.

Why might UFC have issues? 30 second fights. Everytime I tune in, that's what it seems to be. A fight over in one round off one punch. Say what you will, but most boxers do take more punishment for longer periods of time and the "lucky punch" factor is minimized, relatively.If boxing ever gets a marquee heavyweight, UFC will be pushed back again (though..since boxers seem to only fight once a year...maybe not)

Conley will be very good. I just don't think he's ready. Durant and Oden are readytoplay. Conley still has areas that need a lot of work to be on par.

Do you have a source as to where the "Conley to Hawks at 3 is a lock" story? After last year's Shelden Williams promise debacle and the fact the Hawks have worked out NOBODY and there is still alot of time for stock to rise and fall, I have a hard time buying that line is from a reliable source.

Also, I think Stokke got more attention when she was mentioned in a Simmons column (albeit for a few hours before espn took the link down) rather than WithLeather.

i agree - vick won't lose fan cred by coming out against his dog fighting contemperaries. he will lose street cred for sure, but that is overrated anyway, cuz those aren't the people putting money in his pocket.

snitching and helping the effort against dog fighting in the ONLY way he mitigates the public damage. he will still be skewered, and always remembered for it, but still..he has no choice.

The Stokke story...Sure, it does show the power of blogs...but on the other hand, it is easy to side with her dismay. It is pathetic to see how people react to pictures of women like that. It's easy on the net...noone actually knows her, so she's an object. I think its a bit of a downer actually.

Vick won't be suspended for the simple reason that there is just no way to tell if the guy was telling the truth or not. Besides that apparently the guy was a big dog fighter himself but the only time he had seen Vick was at a fight in 2000 before he was drafted. If Goodell is going to suspend players for annoymous tips with no verification on something that happend before they were drafted, the NFL's image will be the least of his problems.

Spurs beat Jazz but how impressive is it when you play the 4th quarter in a 8 on 5? The Spurs shot 25 free throws in the 4th including 11 points from the line from Manu Ginobili who seems to be challenging the Soccer-world to a flopfest of some sort. Shame on the refs for making those calls.

LeBron is clearly mad and that's not a good thing... for the Pistons. Anyone who didn't see the LeBron highlights needs to watch them just to reaffirm the greatness that is the King. Speaking of... check out his new ESPN commercial.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHloJGO0NoY

Is there a reason that Clemens won't be OK to take DeSalvo's spot against the Red Sox next Sunday? Any reason at all?

Despite the Hawks needing a point guard, I think it would be stupid to take Mike Conley Jr. at #3. This is mostly due to my opinion that Corey Brewer, Al Horford, and Brandan Wright are all better players.

If I'm Atlanta the spot where I'm looking PG is at pick #11 where they could land the most ready point guard in the draft, Acie Law IV.

There's a #11 to Portland for Jarrett Jack and Zach Randolph rumor, but that doesn't make too much sense for either team.

If the Hawks came away with Horford/Law in the first round, it would be a pretty sick draft.

The guy who was on ESPN taking about Vick is a police informant who has been involved in the arrest of 6 other men.

In most cases that is enough for an arrest warrant. However, I think police want to make sure they have enough evidence to place him at these fights before they really lock up one if the biggest celberities for something he might noe have done.

The people who thought Bo Jackson was a baseball star must be the same people who consider Mike Vick a football star. Jackson was a football STUD. But he was maaayyybe above-average as a baseball player. Struck out all the time and hit, what, .260? Some highlight plays, sure....but an all-star on fan popularity ONLY.

I love getting my annual dose of lacrosse every Memorial Day. It's kinda like hockey on grass. Oh wait, that's why it doesn't get a lot of coverage....

I knew Nixon would get a big ovation last night. Obviously not like Johnny Damon.

Using the RealGM TradeChecker I came up with a couple of trades that might work for Kobe. Let's take into acount that there's no way the Lakers can trade him to the WEST cause they aren't that dumb. Even so the article was written today about Dirk for Kobe "straight up". That trade doesn't work and isn't fair anyway. But it does work if you also send Devin Harris to LA.

It's really easy to pick the starters as duds because they have the biggest responsibility. If they blow it, it's over. Whereas hitters can win games singlehandedly even though they are only up 4 times.

* How much are the Falcons lamenting moving Matt Schaub off to the Texans? If and when the hammer of Goodell comes down on Vick, something tells me the phrase, "Starting QB" is NOT a label they really had in mind for Joey Harrington (or Chris Redmond).

* "Conley-tanking": That's it, I'm copyrighting the catchphrase right now. What is it? It's when an NBA-bound prospect, disliking his current high draft status, plans to tank his workouts leading up to the draft to lower his stock, thus dropping from the sights of inept GMs/teams with high picks (see: Atlanta Hawks) and, thus, ensuring life is better playing for a team with at least the motivation to improve itself in the coming years (see: Hornets), or, gasp- even better, lucking out with a team that bamboozled a Lottery team (see: NY Knicks) out of their 1st Round Pick, but are already near the top of their Conference (see: da' Bulls). Count on this, it will happen soon.

* The biggest sign yet that A.J. Pierzynski is a d*ckhead... he and Justin Morneau were teammates in Minnesota several years back. Just shows you how far loyalty goes in the land of Free Agency.

* Chuck Lidell- I'm in a quandry. He was the first guy I really noticed in UFC several years back (I have been a passive fan for a while), but I always found a better fight out of guys like Couture and even Shamrock back in the day. Lidell might be the first high profile UFC fighter (by "high profile" I mean ESPN/general sports fan recognized), but he's certainly not the best. And wait until we start getting into the "pound for pound" best fighter argument like we do for boxing. Guys in the lower weights classes- welterweight Karo Parisyan or middleweight Terry Martin, might be better for the sport's health when we look back after their careers play out.

My argument is, the UFC (and MMA in general) needs to be anti-boxing- in other words, to push for a "Heavyweights Headline" the way boxing has always done would kill the sport. Why does everyone flock to see De la Hoya/Mayweather in boxing? Because there is no heavyweight bout to carry the sport and that has just buried boxing.

So I argue, don't put your sport in that "do or die" position anyway. If you have guys you can root for at every weight division, is that not better for the marketability of the sport anyway? I mean, how many "real" guys out there picture themselves as the 225 pound monster hitter that heavyweights are? Is it not easier to think of yourself as- and root for- that 175 pound firecracker that gets in there and fights like he's 225 pounds?

I would argue that UFC can fill the gap between WWE and boxing. In other words, be the sum of both parts- the money/marketing of WWE combined with the raw/"real" sports satisfaction of boxing to garner casual fans and diehards alike when the product is- and here's the key- QUALITY. More on this as I give it more thought.

I usually try and crawl through the box scores a little bit for hitters, and to see how many times they K'd or how many people they left on base, but it's just easier to sort through the pitchers and who gave up the most ER on a given day for dud status. There's also something to pitchers probably having more of an effect on an outcome of any individual game than most hitters. 2HRs or 5 or more RBI generally gives one a stud as well. Walk-offs are another likely source of 'stud' status.

oh, forgot to say...Larry Hughes being out for the Cavs is a GOOD thing. I think he's hurt more than he has helped. For this series, Gibson has been better shooting the ball and provided more defense than Hughes. Stay with the hotter player.

I still want to see him have 756 be inside-the-park. Who couldn't see JD Drew pull something tracking a ball down in that corner in right? Then Coco Crisp retrieves the ball but realizes it's too late to make a throw.

You'd have to have a pretty devastating collision for Bonds to make it on an inside-the-park job. While he's faster than he was last year, the dude still doesn't move that well or run that hard. Plus, Bonds seemingly hits everything so hard, it's hard to imagine a ball having enough hang time for it to happen.

if he did do it in Fenway...you know only some fool Red Sox fan would actually toss it back. Then random Red Sox players would fight for, sue over possession, and create clubhouse tension that undermined their run to the playoffs as they finish 55-57 and the Yankees win the East after going 71-41.

Also, Honorary MLB Stud to Gary Sheffield, for offering to help out Elijah Dukes, in a seemingly selfless gesture. I guess Dukes grew up and went to the same high school as Sheff, so Sheff offered to reach out and help the kid out.

Wouldn't think of Sheffield as an ideal mentor, but the kid clearly needs some help, and that Sheff doesn't have a perfect past (steroids, greenies, etc), might actually make it more likely that Dukes would listen to him.

You have to hope that Tampa works more on character and keeping their farm kids out of trouble. There's a bad label on the franchise after Dukes, Delmon Young, and Josh Hamilton all had a lot of issues in the minors.

Vick - should and must be suspended. He has been in trouble entirely too many times for him to be able to skate on this unless it is shown he affirmatively was not involved.

Kobe - Baby, baby, baby. I think he is the best basketball talent ever, yes better than Jordan, but he has absolutely no idea how to be a teammate. Jordan was demanding but also knew how to make everyone better (Hey Kobe, you aren't making your team better shooting 40+ times a game)

Speaking as someone who watches a ton of the NBA I have to say that the only thing that would ever give the Lakers a chance in a 7 game series is Kobe " Wiltin' " it for 75% of the time. That means he can take 1 quarter (the 3rd but maybe the second) where he only takes 5 shots. But the other 3, he better take 10 each.

He hits about 16/35 from the field 4/9 from 3pt and goes 8/10 from the line. That's 44 points. He does that and they have a chance. Otherwise, with that team they are dead.

Anaheim Stud: Randy Carlyle: Eric McErlain picked up on this stat on Carlyle's game plan last night. He matched an entire 5-man set (Rob Niedermayer-Pahlsson-Moen-Pronger-Scott Niedermayer) against Ottawa's top line. As a result, Alfredsson, Spezza, and Heatley were shut down in 5-on-5 play. (Alfie and Spezza picked up assists on a PP goal.)

Anaheim Dud: Sami Pahlsson: Sami. Baby. Exactly how did common sense fail you so completely? Returning your goaltender's lost stick by flipping it in the air is never a good idea. Doing it while the puck was below the face-off dots cost your team a power play goal.

Ottawa Stud: Anton Volchenkov: He's like a second goalie on the ice, with all those blocked shots. Is there a prop bet on when one of those shots severs one of his legs completely? They must be hanging on by a thread by now.

Ottawa Dud: Ray Emery: Big-time goalies don't let in goals like that Getzlaf backhand. He had better spend this summer working on his lateral movement.

If Michael Vick did this, and if there is undeniable proof, he should get a lifetime ban. Period. Craziness you say?

Indianapolis has a dogfighting problem. In the past year we have had several people, inlcuding very young children, who have been ripped apart, disfigured and killed by dogs. I ask you this question: Which is worse?1. Betting on a sport2. Raising animals that will rip apart other animals, tear children's faces off and kill people?No, I'm not a peta member, I'm not a vegetarian, I'm just a person who grows more and more weary of these jerks and idiots who do this kind of thing. I vote lifetime ban.

I guess we will never know if it would have made a different since he didn't think enough to wear one. And it should be a water safety lesson. A grown man just died in the water and it was possibly because he wasn't wearing proper safety equipment.

Dan, people read your writing because you're informative and knowledgable about sports. You're supposed to give us valid opinions and good information about the sports that we care so much about. So it really isn't good when you write things like this:

If I was Mark Cuban, I'd say: No, how about Josh Howard for Kobe, straight up? And if I was the Lakers, I'd still do it.

Um...what? You'd trade the most dominant player since Jordan, a great defensive player and a guy who can score at will, for an above-average player in Josh Howard? You'd feel comfortable giving a conference rival the reigning MVP and the best player in the league, with each player having a good three years of his prime left? Even if you were kidding, this is just terrible.

One more thing - anyone notice the irony that, on the same weekend we're celebrating the Duke lacrosse team recovering from the terrible charges they faced and the terrible year they went through because of the media pressure, the media is completely destroying the Devil Rays for employing a guy who's been accused of doing something terrible? Shouldn't we at least wait until the facts come out to decide if a guy should be punished?

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DanShanoff.com is a sports-blog spin-off of my long-time ESPN.com column, "The Daily Quickie." Anchored by an early-morning post of must-know topics, the blog is updated frequently throughout the day with new posts and user comments.